Parks Will Rise And Shine If Bond Passes, County Vows

July 17, 2000|By SCOTT WYMAN Staff Writer

Screams of delight fill the air around Castaway Island's fortress-like watery playground as children soak each other with water cannons, splash down slides and are drenched by trick coconuts hanging from palm trees.

It's a trip from the heat of South Florida's summer to a wet, tropical fantasy world of pirates and shipwrecks, but the respite is brief. The throngs of children are so large and the parking lot so packed with camp and church buses that T.Y. Park in Hollywood must limit everyone to two-hour stays.

Huge crowds are far from the only problem.

The parents and grandparents huddled in the shade of the blue-and-gold mushroom umbrellas aren't likely to notice, but Castaway Island leaks. Every year, work crews are patching and repairing a 20-year-old playground that's desperately in need of a more-extensive makeover.

Signs of age and strain are common throughout a Broward County park system that has struggled to keep pace with the area's booming population and its ever-increasing demands for recreation.

County commissioners are asking voters in November for permission to borrow $400 million for conservation efforts and spend half to upgrade and expand the parks.

On the surface, the system abounds with recreation possibilities not found in many areas -- a skateboard park, a shooting range, Butterfly World, the Velodrome bike rink and even a cricket field. But at the same time, ball fields are deteriorating from high use; tree roots are overrunning boardwalks and trails; the support system of sewers, water lines and roads need repair; and everything is simply crowded.

The parks portion of the bond issue has been overshadowed by the drive to preserve some of Broward's remaining environmentally sensitive land, but backers of the proposal say the park expansion could help ensure success in the referendum. They hope the emphasis on parks boosts support among young families, such as Sally Locy's.

Parks `important'

The Hollywood mom loves morning walks along the trails through T.Y. Park and takes her children to the water playground.

"Parks are really important for the kids," she said. "You can never have enough green space. There's too much development as it is."

The bond referendum is the county's first effort in 22 years to upgrade the park system. About $53 million would go to repairs at existing parks, with another $132 million to expand parks and add new ones.

The county also wants to invest $15 million in building swimming pools to ensure that every child knows how to swim and the number of drownings declines.

The referendum comes at a time when voters in the nation's other fast-growing areas are making it clear they want green space and parks even if it means higher taxes.

Voters approved 216 of the 250 such referendums over the past two years. In 1999 alone, elections committed $1.8 billion for the work.

Some votes were by overwhelming margins. Four out of every five Phoenix, Ariz., voters agreed to a $256 million tax increase to buy open space, and two-thirds of voters in the Charlotte, N.C., area agreed to a $52 million bond issue for parks and greenways.

The depth of feelings driving those votes is attributed to concern about urban sprawl and the nation's robust economy. According to this view, people see themselves increasingly surrounded by development and traffic congestion and are willing to pay for some relief because times are good.

Options seen as falling

"There's been a paradigm shift in people's attitude toward public spaces," said Kathy Blaha, vice president of the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation group. "People really care about parks and open space and are concerned growth and development are having an impact on keeping open space. They see that options aren't there or are dwindling."

Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, one of the key backers of the bond issue, said she sees such emotions influencing Broward's vote. In a poll paid for by the county this spring, 74 percent of those interviewed said spending money to improve parks is an important goal.

"Parks are what people love the most of what the county does -- parks and libraries," Jacobs said. "The way we are developing, we have tons of lawn, but no place to play. Parks give you a place to go run, stretch and play. The public is yelling loud and clear that we need to grow differently."

Add to that mix the changing nature of society where more people are focused on leisure activities.

Aging Baby Boomers and the growing numbers of 20-somethings are driving demand for more recreational outlets, as are families who want safe places for children to play outdoors, said Barry Kendall of the National Recreation and Park Association and University of Florida recreation professor Stephen Holland.

"There is a growing concern about livability: What will our town look like in five or 10 years if we don't do anything?" said Kendall, the association's public policy director.